There should be a warning posted outside his crease, much like the "Don't feed the animals" signs at the zoo. Really, it's for your own good. You don't want to make St. Patrick mad.
Perhaps no athlete of this generation motivates himself better with pure anger. And isn't it a bit funny that the man with the saintly nickname can grow devils horns and rage himself into a good performance?
Roy felt slighted after losing a tiebreaker to Jose Theodore for the Vezina Trophy, as well as finishing third behind Theodore and Jarome Iginla for the Hart Trophy. What else does he have to do to take home the hardware? Roy posted the best season of his illustrious career, yet he wasn't voted the best goalie. Oops, now you've made him mad and he's just going to try harder this year.
Roy has made his career out of proving people wrong, and this week he will take another goaltending record from Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk.
David Aebischer will start Sunday when the Avs play the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, but Roy will be back in net on Tuesday against Edmonton at the Pepsi Center when he will tie Sawchuk's goalie record of 971 games played. That would put Roy on schedule to pass Sawchuk on Thursday night in Phoenix.
Roy has never been about moments of brilliance -- though there have been plenty of those, too -- but his career has been the essence of sustained greatness. And this season doesn't appear to be much different.
Roy has given up just one goal in three of the Avs' four games this season, and he was a half of a second away from allowing just one score in that fourth game. He is 2-1-1 with a 1.23 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage.
It sure seems a long way from the 7-0 Game 7 debacle against Detroit in the conference finals that ended the Avs' title defense.
And come Thursday night, when he takes his place in the crease for the 972nd time, Roy will stand alone in yet another major category. Then he will work himself into a lather again over something and set his sights on another record, another Vezina and another Cup. Are you going to bet against him?
Terrific trios The two best lines in the league right now are in Pittsburgh and Toronto. Mario Lemieux (four goals, seven assists), Aleksey Morozov (five goals, five assists) and Alexei Kovalev (two goals, five assists) have combined for 28 points, while Mats Sundin (three goals, six assists), Darcy Tucker (three goals, six assists) and Alexander Mogilny (three goals, seven assists) have matched that for the Leafs. The Penguins' trio has an edge in plus-minus (a combined plus-16 to just plus-3 for the Leafs), but the Toronto triumvirate has six power-play goals to only four for the Pittsburgh posse. It must be nice for Pat Quinn and Rick Kehoe to throw their big guns out there and know that they will give you three points per night.
We have a Vin-ner Vincent Lecavalier appears to be on his way toward reversing his descent into NHL draft bust lore. Lecavalier had two goals and one assist against Atlanta on Friday night, then for good measure he pounded the snot out of Dan Snyder in the third period to cap off the Gordie Howe hat trick in what may have been his most complete game of his five-year career. Lecavalier scored the goal of the year so far in the second period of that game, chasing down a loose puck and making a diving poke-check over Pasi Nurminen into the upper right corner to tie the game at 3-3. The former No. 1 overall pick is in a five-way tie for 13th in scoring with seven points, but his plus-4 rating is evident of his committment to team defense, especially considering his awful minus-88 career rating in his previous four seasons.
Tampa Bay @ N.Y. Rangers -- Monday, 7 p.m. EDT
The unbeaten Lightning -- no, that's not a misprint -- take on the 2-2-2 Blueshirts at the world's most famous sports arena. Tampa Bay has been getting balanced scoring from its top three lines and has managed to win despite a tough start by Nikolai Khabibulin (2.90 GAA, .882 save pct.).
Philadelphia @ Buffalo -- Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT
The 3-0-2 Flyers are the only other remaining unbeaten team, and with eight points they top the league. John LeClair has his pitching wedge of a stick working to perfection and fellow veterans Jeremy Roenick and Mark Recchi are getting LeClair the puck in scoring position. Philadelphia needs youngsters Simon Gagne (one goal, one assist) and Justin Williams (one goal, three assists) to pick up their play and give the old guys some help.
St. Louis @ Edmonton -- Thursday, 9 p.m. EDT
Pop quiz -- Who will be in goal for the Blues? Fred Sanford, Curtis Sanford, Curtis Mayfield, Cody Rudkowsky, Buffalo Bill Cody or Commander Cody? If you are a Blues fan and you bring your goalie gear to the Skyreach Center for this game, there is a decent chance you could log some time in the net with the way St. Louis' goalies have been going down with injuries.
Pittsburgh @ Detroit -- Friday, 7:30 p.m. EDT Super Mario's lone trip to the Motor City this season is the marquee battle on a light night of just five games. The Wings beat the Lemieux-less Penguins 4-2 on March 2 in their only meeting last season. With the new obstruction enforcement, the skating at the Joe will be wide open in this contest.
Plus: Joe Thornton The Bruins' captain has announced himself as a Hart Trophy candidate in the early going, with one goal and seven assists in five games while helping Boston get off to a 3-1-1 start on a tough Western road trip. Big Bird is enjoying his role as a playmaker on the top line with Sergei Samsonov and Glen Murray, but with only eight shots on goal, Thornton could stand to shoot a bit more often.
Minus: Florida Panthers After gaining three points in their first two games of the season, the Panthers took a big nosedive in the second week, losing three consecutive games by a 4-1 margin. For the season, Florida has allowed 20 goals in five games. Roberto Luongo is 1-4 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a disappointing .892 save percentage.
Plus: St. Louis Blues After losing to Anaheim 4-3 and playing a 2-2 tie with Minnesota in their first two games, the Blues have won three in a row. And talk about doing it with smoke and mirrors -- St. Louis has been playing with its No. 3 and 4 goaltenders on the depth chart since Fred Brathwaite aggravated a groin injury in the second game.
Minus: Stanislav Chistov The speedy Russian rookie is scoreless since his four-point game on opening night, and even was a healthy scratch in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Kings. Chistov bounced back and played 11:10 in Friday's 2-2 tie with Vancouver, but he was ineffective and didn't manage a shot on goal.
Plus: Guys named Chris Calgary's Chris Drury and Buffalo's Chris Gratton are surprising names in the top 10 in scoring with eight points each. Drury has two goals and six assists, while Gratton has three goals and five assists. The Flames have been the beneficiaries of five power-play assists from Drury. And Gratton is a team-best plus-4 for the Sabres, surprising given his career rating of minus-108.
Minus: Guys named Adam Adam Oates and Adam Deadmarsh are off to slow starts and aren't pulling their weight on the Ducks' and Kings' top lines. Oates has just two assists and is a minus-4, while Deadmarsh has only one goal and one assists. Ducks head coach Mike Babcock dropped Oates to the second line on Friday night and put Steve Rucchin back with Paul Kariya and Mike Leclerc.
Plus: Manny Fernandez The Wild has the hottest starting backstop in the league, as Fernandez is 3-0 with a 1.01 GAA and .967 save pct. After going 19-17-4 in 2000-01, Fernandez slumped to just 12-24-5 with a 3.05 GAA last season, but he seems to be back in form so far this year.
Minus: Atlanta Thrashers' defense Atlanta's sieve-like defensive unit gave up 16 goals in three games last week, including Saturday's embarrassing 8-5 loss at Tampa Bay. The Thrashers have allowed five or more goals in four of their five games this season and Milan Hnilicka and Pasi Nurminen have seen an average of 37 shots per game so far.
"I have never, ever seen a naked guy on the ice before. That was bizarre. We must be in Canada, huh? That would never happen in Boston. I saw him taking off his pants and then he got on the top rope and ... oh man, it wasn't nice. And what's with those socks? Say what you want, he gave the people what they want to see."
-- Boston's Joe Thornton after an attempted streaker fell on the ice Thursday in Calgary and knocked himself unconscious.
"It's disappointing we're not getting more people but times are tough. People are struggling to make a living. We understand that."
-- Ottawa center Shaun Van Allen on the fact the Senators have sold just 8,200 season tickets and are averaging only 15,341 fans per game.
"I was surprised when it went in. How many times are you going to score goals like that?"
-- Boston's Sergei Samsonov after scoring the game-winning goal with a half-second left on Monday night at Colorado.
While it's highly unlikely that Mario Lemieux, Alexander Mogilny or John LeClair slipped through the cracks of your fantasy draft, guys like Chris Gratton, Slava Kozlov, Vaclav Prospal, Petr Cajanek and Ruslan Fedotenko may have. Each of those players is among the top 20 in scoring right now and would be solid pickups if they are still unclaimed. Find out who has done what so far this season on our stats pages.
Chuck Kobasew, RW, Flames
The Flames' top pick (No. 14 overall) in 2001, Kobasew has two goals and one assist in his first five NHL games. Kobasew scored 27 goals in his one season at Boston College and had 41 with Kelowna of the WHL last year, so the Flames are hoping that he turns into a top-notch scorer. But in his first week in the NHL, Kobasew has already proven that he is a top-notch human being. After scoring the game-winner in a 3-2 victory Monday against the Canucks, Kobasew signed the puck and sent it to his close friend Chris Slater in Osoyoos, B.C., who is terminally ill with brain cancer. Slater and Kobasew played hockey together since they were five years old. Parents John and Jane Slater were delighted by the goodwill gesture of their son's friend. "I think it was wonderful for both Chuck and Christopher to share that," Jane said. John said it was a great gesture, which brought a smile to his son's face. "Chris thought it was pretty cool," he said.
4
Goals by Minnesota's Bill Muckalt last week, after scoring scoreless in 70 games for Ottawa last season. Muckalt, who had 43 goals in four NHL seasons coming into this year, is on pace to score 65 goals.
24
Penalty minutes accumulated by the Devils' Scott Gomez on Saturday night at 11:16 of the third period for getting roughing , unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct and game misconduct penalties called at the same time. Gomez had just 36 PIM last season and only 46 in 2000-01.
45
Power-play chances for the Carolina Hurricanes, who have converted just five power-play goals (11.1 percent) to rank as the seventh-least efficient power-play unit.
96.8
Penalty-killing percentage by the Vancouver Canucks, who have allowed just one power-play goal in 31 short-handed situations.
Our latest best guess at what the postseason seeding will look like.
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Philadelphia Flyers
Colorado Avalanche
Toronto Maple Leafs
Detroit Red Wings
Washington Capitals
Dallas Stars
New Jersey Devils
Los Angeles Kings
Carolina Hurricanes
St. Louis Blues
Ottawa Senators
Vancouver Canucks
Tampa Bay Lightning
San Jose Sharks
Montreal Canadiens
Calgary Flames
Each week during the season, this space will be devoted to your comments on a particular issue.
Last week's topic: Who will win the Hart Trophy?
I'm gonna take a long shot here and say ... Mario Lemieux. The guy amazes me. How a man of 37 years old dominates a game like this is awesome. I hope everybody continues to say Mario is down, cause it just makes his drive to be the best even more enjoyable to watch. And when he leads the Penguins back to the playoffs, people will have no choice but as to say Mario is simply the best. Ryan, Pittsburgh, Pa.
A healthy Joe Thornton is the most dominating player in the game today.
This should be his year to shine. Appointing him as captain of the B's
should only boost his confidence. Mike, Boston, Mass.
Miroslav Satan might be a dark horse for the Hart Trophy. Satan has shown over the years that he can score playing with anyone on his line and with the open ice; this might be the season he breaks out for 50-plus goals. Remember this, he was a top-20 scorer on a non-playoff team last season. Scott, North Tonawanda, N.Y.
Peter Forsberg wins his first trophy since winning the Calder Trophy his
rookie year. Peter's got something to prove to his teammates after sitting
out the 2001-02 season. Jason Ferrante, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Markus Naslund will show that he is the best player in the game today by
carrying the Canucks to a top three finish in the West. His speed and quick
release snap-shot are only some of the attributes that make him such a good
player. He is also developing as a leader, and will be exciting to watch
this year. The Hart trophy is a good as his. Shaun, Calgary, Alberta
Iggy, Iggy, Iggy! Oy! Oy! Oy! Jarome will repeat his accomplishments of last year, with the difference being that the Flames will make the playoffs comfortably. That, plus Jose Theodore crashing back to earth, means Jarome wins in a Hartbeat. Joey Lindstrom, Calgary, Alberta
I never thought I'd write these words: Mats Sundin for MVP. It may seem like a long shot, but finally Pat Quinn has exiled Jonas Hoglund and put Alexander Mogilny and Darcy Tucker on his line. Last year he was in the top 10 of scoring and now with the perfect linemates he can help carry the team in the absence of a bonafide keeper. He'll be in the top five in scoring and help Toronto make it to the next level......only to lose to San Jose. Jamie S. Kokiw, Toronto, Ontario
Bill Guerin will with the Hart. With all of his tools and skills and being matched with Mike Modano on the same line, he will shine and dominate this year leading the Stars deep into the playoff, if not winning it all. If Guerin stays healthy he is the man. Greg Elleman, Irving, Texas
I believe that Sergei Fedorov will win the Hart Trophy. Last time Stevie Y was out for a long period of time, Sergei took over the whole league and won the Hart Trophy. That exact same thing will happen this year because Stevie Y is out at least until New Years and that is enough time for him to get enough points then to be on top of the league. Jason, Zeeland, Mich.
This week's topic: What do you think of the enforcement of obstruction so far?
Click here to send us your choice, with a short (75 words or less) explanation. Brevity and humor are good; naughty words and personal attacks are not so good. And don't forget to include your name, hometown and home state/province.
Jon A. Dolezar covers the NHL for CNNSI.com. "Week at a Glance" will appear each Sunday during the regular season.
Got a comment, question or scoop for Jon? Click here.
Chuck Kobasew, RW, Flames
